Russia’s Vladimir Putin backs Ukraine ceasefire

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has expressed support for Ukraine’s unilateral ceasefire in its battle against pro-Russian separatists and appealed to both sides to halt all military operations. But he warned that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s blueprint for peace would not be viable without action to start peace negotiations. The qualified Russian backing for Mr Poroshenko’s effort to halt the conflict was another in a series of shifting Kremlin moves and statements that leave unclear the level of Moscow’s commitment to de-escalating the conflict. Mr Putin’s conciliatory words came on the same day he ordered large-scale military exercises that NATO criticised as likely to raise…